She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…
Marauder's Phase
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Homeward Bound
"What are you watching, Septimus?" I asked him in Parsletongue the next morning.
"I don't know." He replied.
"What's the plot?" I pressed on, as I brushed my hair. "Who's the main character?"
"How ssshould I know, they all look the sssame to me!" Septimus hissed angrily.
"Did you realise this is the Snake Hunting channel?" I asked him finally.
Septimus raised himself bolt upright, and I left him with this thought as I went next door to visit Remus, who was in the bathroom just finishing brushing his teeth.
"Our flight's booked for three-thirty this afternoon," I said, watching him spit and rinse. "So that means we arrive in England at…umm…"
"Seven thirty," Remus replied, looking at me in the bathroom mirror. "The flight takes ten hours, but England is six hours behind Bali…"
"Bizare…" I mumbled. I thought for a moment. "Soooo…if it's eight o'clock here, that means it's only…two o'clock there? Or something…is that it?"
"Yes, that's right." Remus nodded.
"So calling Lily right now would be a bad idea?" I guessed.
"Right again White Fang," Remus grinned at me. "Although now you mention it, James did try calling Lily about fifteen minutes ago."
"And? Did he get through?" I adjusted my second earring in my left ear.
"Oh, he got through alright," Remus replied. "Petunia was screaming at him never to call again, I think she broke his eardrum."
I grinned. "Anyway…"
"We're going to a nearby hotel to spend the night," He went on, as we exited the bathroom. "And then travelling by Floo Powder back to Prongs'."
"Right," I said glumly. "And then we have to go to the Ministry and answer questions. Terrific." I said sarcastically.
Remus squeezed my shoulder. Then he pointed his wand at the few possessions that hadn't been destroyed when the Death Eaters attacked the Bali Dynasty, and said: "Pack." His possessions flew neatly into a little backpack, which flew into his hand.
"Let's go." I said, just as a scream from next door made me jump.
Remus and I hurried next door, to find Septimus swaying tauntingly on the bed, and a poor hotel worker screaming.
"Sebuah ular!! Oh Tuhan, selamatkanlah aku dari ular yang jahat berkerudung!! Help!! " She screamed. She pointed at Septimus dramatically. "Iblis ular jahat berkerudung!!"
Septimus spread his hood threateningly.
I hurried over and grabbed Septimus and my shoulder bag, calling: "Menyesal!" To the poor woman as Remus and I hurried from the room. "What did she say to him?" I asked Remus, once we were safely out of the room and standing next to a ping-pong table. I figured Remus, the person who's read more books then James has hexed people, would know.
Remus looked like he was trying not to smile. "She called him an…evil hooded snake demon…"
I gaped. "Septimus? A hooded snake, yes. But an evil demon?" I shook my head. "Never…"
Septimus flicked his tongue in and out thoughtfully after I'd hissed this to him in Parsletongue.
"Hey, White Fang, can I say something?" Remus asked me suddenly.
"You may." I replied.
"I thought you didn't like snakes." He said seriously. "Prongs told me how your Boggart turned into a giant snake. And yet you talked to that Basalisk without running…and now this…" He gestured to Septimus.
"First of all," I said, just as seriously. "Septimus is hardly a giant snake. And I am thankful that he warned me about the Death Eaters' plans, now the Ministry knows as well." I dared not mention Remus' parents. "So I trust him fairly well. Plus, I can talk to him. We can understand each other, so there's no reason for me to be afraid of him, because I know he'll never bite me. And as for the Basalisk, well…" I'd wondered about this too. "I think the reason I never ran from it was because we were all in danger, and I was really the only one who could save us. My desire to save my friends overrode all fear at that present time, although later I had to ask myself how I'd done it. I wondered how I'd been so brave…"
"The same bravery you dredged up when you saved me?" Remus asked, smiling.
I smiled back. "I finally know what my Patronus is – a stag, just like James'. It's okay that it's a boy Patronus – after all, Snape's is a girl."
"Oh?" Remus looked at me.
I nodded. "Snape's is a doe, just like Lily's, since…he's been in love with her for most of his life, the git…" I shook my head.
"Can someone really be blamed for being in love with another man's girlfriend?" Remus asked quietly.
I blinked. "Touché old man, touché…" I muttered, just as James and Sirius came toward us from their rooms, and Sirius took my hand instantly.
"Nymphadora and her family just left for home," James informed us. "They're going to come to London for the…uh…whatever it is we're going to at the Ministry."
I groaned. "Don't remind me, Prongs – I'm dreading the very thought of it. All those questions…"
Sirius grinned. "We could skip it…" He began, but Remus cut him off.
"What, and have Ministry members knocking on our door? I think not." Remus said flatly.
He and Sirius exchanged a strange glance, one that made me take a half step back…and then my stomach rumbled.
I groaned, as the guys laughed.
"A bit hungry, White Fang?" James grinned.
I nodded. "I didn't eat last night, you know that…ah, what the hell, it is breakfast time!" I declared. "The Rani has a great restaurant…"
"Aww…" Sirius complained. "I'm sick of staying at the hotel. Let's go out and eat elsewhere!" He pouted.
"Why would we pay to eat elsewhere when we can just stay at the hotel and eat for free?" I argued.
"Oh Emmy," Sirius said, sighing dramatically. "Everyone knows the best things in life aren't free."
"No," I replied. "Everyone knows the best things in life are free."
Sirius and I stared at each other.
Remus was looking from me to Sirius, and then he suddenly declared: "I know – why don't we eat out, and I'll pay for everything, since I've got Muggle money? (Rupiahs)."
I clapped my hands together. "That's a great idea Moony! Excellent! We can go to the sport-theme hotel down the road! I know the way! Follow me!" I marched down the path across the border of Lotus Pond (the millions of black fish in there eyed Septimus hungrily).
Behind me, I could swear I heard Sirius mutter: "Now why didn't I think of that?"
***
We ended up eating out and doing some shopping – by completely no fault of anyone's. Just that when we were leaving, I saw a really cute sarong in the window and had to take a look at it. Then James declared that he was going to buy a gift for Lily, and needed my help since I was 'a girl too'.
"No, really, I always thought I was a man." I said, and James rolled his eyes.
Then, in the same shop, I just had to examine the world's biggest cat fish. It also had huge eyes. And a little tank.
In the shop next door, Sirius spotted a shark tooth necklace, and we all treated ourselves to ice-creams.
"Ice-cream, I love you." I told the Magnum, liking some of the chocolate off it.
"Wish I was an ice-cream." Sirius muttered.
I blushed, and elbowed him – hard; he dropped his Paddlepop and had to go and buy another one.
"Mataharis…no, Centros!" I declared, and we went into Centros and ogled at all the Muggle items.
"That's an MP3 Player which holds up to five thousand songs," I pointed out, as we walked through the electrical department. "And there's a Plasma TV showing an episode of Lost, a Walkman from the 1990's, a mobile phone the size of a pen, and over there's a microwave oven!"
"What's that?" Sirius asked, pointing.
I looked. "That's a karaoke machine." I recognised it – Lillyana had one. "Ooh, look, those people are trying it out…oh, I know this song, it's You Are The Music In Me from High School Musical."
"Saw that movie," James smirked. "It was a dud…" I glared at him. "Well, that's what Padfoot said!"
Sirius' eyes went wide and, I couldn't help it, I laughed. James reminded me of Neuro Naōgami – I wouldn't be at all surprised if he depicted Sirius in a dog collar on a leash at one stage.
Suddenly, Sirius grabbed my hand, and dragged me over to the karaoke system.
"Excuse me," He said importantly to the Gabrielle wannabe. "But my girlfriend is going to sing now, so please let her."
My face went red, as the two foreign people said: "Naku po! Kami pumunta ngayon! We'll go now!" The hurried off.
"Sirius Black, that was mean!" I admonished him.
He grinned. "Can I be blamed for wanting to hear you sing again?"
I grimaced. "You know, most regular people can't sing."
His grin turned into a smirk. "Ah, but you and I aren't regular now, are we Emmy?"
"I am never speaking to you again."
"Yes you will."
"We're singing At The Beginning With You. Do you even know that song?"
"I know it."
"Well…damn."
***
We arrived at the airport at one o'clock, me and Remus with our bags, me with my snake, and James and Sirius both dragging the giant lion statue James had gotten for his parents. It was really a wonder the guys were coming with me, since only I had the Tracker placed on me. I guess that just goes to show what good friends they are, as we waited for the Ministry wizard who would escort us to our plane.
"Pengguna narkoba akan dituntut dan, dalam beberapa kasus, sentanced untuk eksekusi." James read off a nearby sign, as we stood around in the airport attracting more attention than I would've liked. It was a credit to him that he got every word right. "Moony," He asked, turning to out werewolf friend. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Drug users will be prosecuted," Remus translated accurately. "And in some cases even executed. They take drug trafficking very seriously over here." He added, and we all nodded seriously.
"Leben ist seltsam." James nodded.
"What!?" I cried, recognising the tone of words but not the words.
James shrugged. "I heard that guy over there say it. He also said 'wo sind die Zauberer und die Hexe'?"
"He said 'life is weird' and asked 'where are those wizard and that witch'?" Remus asked sharply, looking up from his book.
I gasped. "Oh guys, that's the Ministry representative!" I grabbed Sirius by the hand and yanked him up. "Oh, come on! Or else we'll be late and miss our flight!"
***
At three-thirty five the plane was taxiing down the runway, and I was sitting next to Sirius (I had the window seat). James and Remus were across the aisle from us. Septimus was curled up on my lap, and trying not to attract any attention. A King Cobra is something Muggles do not want to share a flight with.
The flight attendant (who was Dutch) was giving a speech on safety. The captain was navigating the plane, which was a Garuda Boeing 777-300ER. Sirius looked bored. I was fidgeting in my seat, trying to find a comfortable position which wasn't easy since we were flying economy class, commonly referred to as 'cattle class'.
"Stupid bloody seats…the only thing I ever worry about…" I muttered, glaring at the so-called pillow.
"You're not afraid of flying?" Sirius asked me, surprised.
I shook my head. "No, because: one, I have flown before. Two, I'm in Gryffindor and we're not afraid of anything. Three, I trust this airline. And four, on the slight chance that we do crash, I can just Apparate, and your attitude will determine whether or not I save you, dearest."
The airplane was taxying down the runway faster now, and suddenly the plane lifted off the ground and the flight had begun.
"You know you couldn't live without me." Sirius said.
"Wanna bet?" I asked him, before glancing at him. His face looked almost pleading. "Because you'd win that bet, Paddy." I added quickly, and Sirius visibly relaxed.
***
"Stir-fry and vanilla and chocolate ice-cream," I said. "What a great combination."
"Sssiriusss hasssn't come back yet," Septimus said. "Maybe he'sss died…" He sounded hopeful.
"He just went to the bathroom." I told the snake, and then I realised. "Oh no…oh no." I jumped up and nearly sprinted down the plane, drawing my wand inconspicuously from my pocket as I did. I reached the offending bathroom door and uttered: "Alohamora!"
The door swung open and Sirius came out. "How did you know?" He asked me.
I rolled my eyes. "Please. The number of times it happened to me? Before I knew magic? I thought I'd die…"
"You didn't always know you were magic?" Sirius was surprised.
I shrugged. "I had a feeling. But when I was younger nothing ever really happened. I once got stuck in there for half an hour."
Sirius cringed.
***
The cabin lights dimmed.
The movie came on.
"Oh no…noooooo…" I groaned.
Sirius, Remus and James looked at me. "What?" They asked in unison.
"It's Snakes On A Plane, starring Samuel. L. Jackson." I said, burying my head in my hands before searching for my earphones. "Oh why, oh why did they decide to how this? It's like the time my parents were forced to take me on a cruise, with the Sun Princess. They showed Jaws." Muggles can be really weird, sometimes.
***
The plane was touching down onto the runway at Heathrow airport, and Sirius was leaning across me to see out the window.
"Cool," He said. "The things these Muggles come up with…"
We were the first ones off the plane, and a Ministry wizard accompanied us through the airport.
"Home sweet home." James sighed, as we got outside to a typical English summer, not at all like the Bali tropical winter, which wasn't really winter at all, just summer pretending. "I hope Mum and Dad weren't too worried…oh, hang on, Moony…sorry…"
"It's okay." Remus said quietly but, looking at him, I could tell that it wasn't okay – Remus was upset, but he wasn't going to let it show. More than ever I wished that I could hug him but, with Sirius around, I couldn't.
Well, I got the chance later on, when we reached the hotel.
We settled in for the night but, at ten o'clock (when everyone else was supposed to be sleeping) I decided to go for a walk.
I stepped out of my room, and then the door next to me opened.
"Emmy?"
"Remi?" I saw his gold eyes glittering in the dark. "Oh, Remi!" I rushed at him and flung my arms around him.
"Emmy…" He said softly. "Do you still blame yourself?"
It was amazing, strange even, that we could understand each other, and I knew what he was talking about.
And he knew what I was so guilty about.
"It is my fault," I whispered. "Remy…My Remy…it is all my fault…"
"No, you can't keep saying that," Remus said firmly, picking me up bridal-style and carrying me over to the window. "Emmy, listen to me – the Death Eaters know you act quickly and often without thinking. They knew that after they tangled with you in the Forbidden Forest." We were standing at a tall window, as the lights twinkled below us. "They pinpointed your weakness, and acted on it, knowing that you'd rise to the bait. This does not make you weak – it only proves that you are a human being."
I pressed my hands to the window, which was cold. "Then why do I feel so horrible, Moony?"
He leaned down to me. "Because you care, White Fang." He replied, his gold eyes staring into my hazel ones.
I sighed. "More than you could ever know."